Netflix is not moving forward with Grendel and comics fans are a little bit sad about the news. Deadline reported that Matt Wagner’s masked vigilante wouldn’t be seeing the light of day on the streamer. But, that doesn’t mean the end of the line for Grendel. The series is still being shopped for a different home. Dark Horse comics fans had been looking forward to the eight episodes. Abubakr Ali was going to be in the titular role. Resident Evil series creator Andrew Dabb was writing the treatment as well. Grendel has already filmed multiple episodes, so the decision is a bit baffling. Production has not been completed so, there’s a bit of uncertainty in the air.
Series co-star Julian Black Antelope had some high praise for the comic book adaptation. He talked to ScreenRant about the eight-episode TV series’ future just a month ago. It sounds like fans are going to be missing out now.
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“It blew me away, Matt Wagner’s comic has been around since I think the early ’80s, 1982-83, somewhere in there,” Antelope explained. “It’s come out with so many different versions of Grendel, different iterations of it over the years, and it’s got this fan base that I wasn’t even aware existed. I don’t want to say too much about this right now, but I can say if you’re a Grendel comic fan out there and you’re familiar with the comic, you will not be disappointed in the series at all. And if you are not a Grendel fan and this is a first-time thing for you, I guarantee you that if you watch it, you will not be disappointed at all. It’s got everything, I feel very blessed to be part of the project. That’s what I can say. I don’t want to talk too much about it, I don’t know what I’m allowed to say and what I’m not. [Chuckles]”
The Creator Had Such High Hopes for Grendel
When the project first got announced, Wagner sounded absolutely elated to be having his work adapted. “I couldn’t be more thrilled about the Grendel saga, one of the longest-running independent comics series, finally being translated into live-action for the screen,” Wagner wrote. “Under the sharp guidance of showrunner Andrew Dabb, our incredible creative team, sure-to-be stellar cast and Dark Horse Entertainment have teamed with Netflix to produce this provocative adaptation that will bring my characters and concepts to an all new audience and yet still provide excitement and surprises for die-hard fans. I’m especially excited to see Abubakr Ali bring the character of Grendel/Hunter Rose to life — he has the charisma, style and vital edginess that I’ve been envisioning in the role for years.”
Here’s a peek at what could have been with Netflix’s Grendel: “Based on Matt Wagner’s groundbreaking comic book series, Grendel follows Hunter Rose, a gifted fencer, writer and assassin as, seeking to avenge the death of a lost love, he goes to war with New York’s criminal underworld, only to realize…why beat them, when you can join them?”
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